Sunday, February 12, 2006
Personal despair on public display
Michelle Kwan has experienced both public idolization as well as public humiliation during her skating career. In the last ten years, reporters and sports analysts have disected her athleticism, her psyche, and her character. Today her personal despair is on display for further inspection.
Everyone has moments of disappointment, heartache, even tragedy. And everyone deals with these trying times differently. Some prefer isolation, some, a lone shoulder to cry on, and some choose to totally ignore the bad times. Kwan doesn not have the choice of any of these private options. How difficult it must be to personally work through the pain and sadness of a loss like hers when it seems the whole world is evaluating and examining your life, even if it might seem to be in a positive light.
Of course the public scrutiny comes with the territory of being a professional athlete. Going for the gold also means tolerating the tarnish. Still, today I felt sorry for Kwan because her healing can never be done in solitude. Even after today's headlines fade, the publicity of the past will affect how she makes sense of, and copes with the dissolution of her dream. And in the long run, it may make a difference in how she is able to deal with her personal tragedy.
Everyone has moments of disappointment, heartache, even tragedy. And everyone deals with these trying times differently. Some prefer isolation, some, a lone shoulder to cry on, and some choose to totally ignore the bad times. Kwan doesn not have the choice of any of these private options. How difficult it must be to personally work through the pain and sadness of a loss like hers when it seems the whole world is evaluating and examining your life, even if it might seem to be in a positive light.
Of course the public scrutiny comes with the territory of being a professional athlete. Going for the gold also means tolerating the tarnish. Still, today I felt sorry for Kwan because her healing can never be done in solitude. Even after today's headlines fade, the publicity of the past will affect how she makes sense of, and copes with the dissolution of her dream. And in the long run, it may make a difference in how she is able to deal with her personal tragedy.
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Excellent! I am quite impressed with your nascent creation, In the Long Run. I love how you have worked the blog title in the closing sentences of both entries thus far. I will watch carefully to see how you incorporate that catchy title in your future posts. As for Kwan, I feel bad for her, but I think she made the right decision. Her career has been marked by brilliance, elegance, and grace. If she didn't feel like she could win the gold medal, performing at these Olympics would have likely left a sour taste in her mouth. A poor performance in Torino, moreover, would have tarnished her skating legacy. Some people questioned Michael Jordan's decision to extend his career by playing basketball for the Washington Wizards. Many felt that a lackluster stint with a struggling team would tarnish Jordan's legacy. I disagreed in that instance because Jordan's career had been so visible on the grandest of stages for more than a decade. His last two seasons, although sub par by his standards, could not have altered the legacy he had already established. In contrast, Michelle Kwan's identity is inextricably intertwined with the Olympics and her Olympic performances. For better or worse, people will remember her as the gracious presence on the podium who didn't win gold. Had she botched her Torino Olympic performance, she would have left the sport in truly unceremonious fashion. I am glad that she ceded her spot to someone else who might not have the staying power that enabled Kwan to make three Olympic teams, but for whom the Olympic experience would be memorable.
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